Tag: Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers share first look at Jared McCain in an NBA uniform

The Philadelphia 76ers shared their first glimpse of Jared McCain in an NBA uniform on Friday.

Duke basketball star[autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] has finally made it in the NBA, fully and officially.

After the Philadelphia 76ers drafted McCain with the 16th pick in the 2024 NBA draft on Wednesday, the team shared its first look at McCain in a jersey on Friday.

It appears McCain, who wore the number 0 at Duke, will now sport the number 20 in the City of Brotherly Love.

McCain averaged 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds during his lone season of basketball in Durham. He scored at least 30 points three times, tying a school record for points scored by a freshman in a regular-season game (35 against Florida State) and points scored in an NCAA Tournament game (32 against NC State in the Elite Eight).

McCain now gets to play with Joel Embiid, the 7-foot superstar who was named MVP two seasons ago, and last season’s Most Improved Player, Tyrese Maxey.

The California native is Duke’s 28th first-round pick since 2011.

76ers draft Adem Bona at No. 41 overall

Bona to Philly.

Adem Bona, from UCLA, was drafted 41st in the 2024 NBA Draft. He will be a member of the Philadelphia 76ers when the 2024-2025 season begins. The 6’10, 235lbs big man scored 12.4 points per game and ripped down 5.9 rebounds per game for the Bruins a season ago.

Bona joins Jared McCain, a guard from Duke in the draft. McCain was drafted 16th overall. On the 76ers, Bona and McCain will join Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, who were two of the top scorers a season ago in the NBA.

The NBA Draft started Wednesday night with forward Zaccharie Risacher from France as the top pick. Alex Sarr, the big man from Australia was second. The top pick was guard Reed Sheppard from Kentucky, who went to the Houston Rockets.

Bona is expected to play on the 76ers Summer League team this summer. He will battle for a roster spot for the 76ers, who made the postseason a season ago out of the Eastern Conference.

Is former Duke basketball star Jared McCain the missing piece for the Philadelphia 76ers?

The Philadelphia 76ers have yet to reach the Eastern Conference finals in the Joel Embiid era. Can Jared McCain get them over the hump?

The Philadelphia 76ers are missing something. Everyone in the NBA knows it.

The Sixers finished at least 12 games above .500 in each of the last seven seasons, including the abridged 2019-20 campaign. Superstar center Joel Embiid won the NBA MVP in 2022-23 and finished second in the voting in both of the two previous seasons. Tyrese Maxey emerged as the Most Improved Player in the league last season while Embiid dealt with injuries, and the duo combined for 60.6 points per game. Philadelphia finished with a 31-8 record when Embiid started in the regular season.

With all of that said, however, Philadelphia has lost in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in five of those seven postseasons. In the other two, they exited in the first round. They haven’t reached the conference finals since their fateful run to the NBA Finals with Allen Iverson in 2001.

They’ve tried everything. They’ve fired two coaches since 2020. They drafted Ben Simmons and traded for Jimmy Butler and James Harden, but each left the team within a few years.

Now, their hopes rest on Duke basketball star [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag].

The Sixers drafted McCain with the 16th overall pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft, adding the 20-year-old sharpshooter to the roster. Philadelphia finished below the league median in 3-point attempts per game last season, and McCain brings a 40% flamethrower to the perimeter. Philadelphia fans already love his fit alongside Maxey, an athletic slasher who has shown an early penchant for big moments.

No, all the pressure isn’t on McCain next season. Embiid’s health will be the biggest question mark. At best, McCain will be the fourth or fifth scoring option, and he’ll almost surely come off the bench for the entire season.

However, the team’s President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey said he plans on the Sixers being the best team in the Eastern Conference next season during his post-draft press conference. Making such a statement less than an hour after drafting McCain makes it clear that the former Blue Devil is part of that vision.

Will the engaging Duke star be enough to run down fellow Blue Devil [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] and the Boston Celtics? Only time will tell, but that’s certainly the plan in Philadelphia.

Former Blue Devil Jared McCain gushes about his love for Duke at the NBA draft

Jared McCain, the former Duke basketball star drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, gushed about Duke before the draft.

Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag]’s life changed on Wednesday night when the Philadelphia 76ers called his name with the 16th pick of the NBA draft on Wednesday night.

Hours before he hugged his family and strode across the stage at the Barclays Center, however, ESPN asked him about his time with the Blue Devils and what The Brotherhood meant to him. The most popular man in Durham over the past eight months, predictably, had nothing but nice things to say.

“It means everything to me, man,” McCain said. “I love Duke with literally all my heart. I can’t wait to visit when I can…It was just a blessing to put on that jersey every night and to know the history that came before me. It meant everything to me.”

McCain averaged 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds during his one and only season as a Blue Devil, and he scored at least 30 points in two of his final three games during March Madness.

Check out some of the best reactions to McCain getting drafted here.

Jared McCain shares short message to Philadelphia 76ers fans as his NBA career begins

Jared McCain, sporting a 76ers hat after Philadelphia drafted him on Wednesday night, shared a short message through social media after the pick.

Nobody is more ready for [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag]’s NBA career to start than McCain himself.

After the Philadelphia 76ers took McCain with the 16th overall pick on Wednesday night, and with the former Duke basketball star wearing a Sixers hat, he recorded a short social media message to Philadelphia fans.

“What’s up, Philly fans?” McCain said, a big smile across his face. “Jared McCain here. I’m so excited to get out to Philly and start working, man. Let’s do this.”

McCain, who averaged 14.3 points per game and made more than 41% of his 3-point looks, increased his draft stock with two 30-point games in the NCAA Tournament and an electric performance at the combine.

The one-year Blue Devil also earned fans for dedicating his newfound NBA career to his brother Jayce after health problems derailed Jayce’s collegiate career.

McCain becomes the 28th Duke basketball player taken in the first round of the draft since 2011.

Check out the best social media reactions to McCain’s selection here.

Former Duke basketball star Jared McCain dedicates his new NBA career to his brother

Duke basketball star Jared McCain got drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday and made sure his brother shared the moment with him.

Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] got to realize a lifelong dream on Wednesday night when the Philadelphia 76ers chose him in the 2024 NBA draft. Somehow, amidst the pride and the emotions of that moment, he made sure there was room in the spotlight for one other person.

McCain’s older brother, Jayce, used to play college basketball at Cal State San Marcos. Health concerns throughout his high school and collegiate career forced him to pursue coaching instead of playing, however, and Jared emphasized throughout the draft process that he wanted to make the NBA for his brother as much as himself.

Jayce seemed just as overwhelmed as Jared in the moment.

“It means everything to me,” Jayce said. “He worked so damn hard for this. I’m just blessed to be a part of this journey and it’s such a big part of my purpose as a person.”

Jared described the exact same feelings with a lot fewer words.

“There’s no words to describe it,” Jared said about getting drafted, his voice thick with emotion. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity.”

Check out the best reactions to McCain’s selection from across the country here.

Watch Duke basketball star Jared McCain react to being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers

ESPN had a camera on Duke basketball star Jared McCain while he reacted to hearing his name at the 2024 NBA draft.

Duke basketball fans got to watch freshman sensation [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] grow during his freshman season in 2023-24, and now, they got to watch McCain get drafted into the NBA.

The Philadelphia 76ers picked McCain with the 16th pick in the 2024 NBA draft on Wednesday night. McCain, in attendance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn with his family, heard his name called and got to walk across the big stage in person, and ESPN kept a camera on him for the entire process.

A visibly emotional McCain embraced his family one-by-one, and he even dapped up former teammate [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] and Duke head coach Jon Scheyer for quick embraces on his way to the stage.

Filipowski said something to McCain, drawing a laugh out of the newest member of the 76ers before Scheyer also shared a few words with his former star.

Fans in Philadelphia and around the league seemed excited about the pick, too. Check out the best reactions on social media here.

McCain gets to play alongside former MVP Joel Embiid and last season’s Most Improved Player, Tyrese Maxey, in the City of Brotherly Love.

Jared McCain goes 16th overall to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2024 NBA draft

The Philadelphia 76ers took former Duke basketball star Jared McCain with the 16th pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday night.

Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] fulfilled a dream on Wednesday night when the Philadelphia 76ers took him with the 16th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

McCain, who attended the draft in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, strode across the stage and got to shake NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s hand at the podium with a team hat atop his head.

As a freshman with the Blue Devils last season, McCain put together three 30-point games en route to averaging 14.3 points per game. Despite being 6-foot-3, he also averaged 5.0 rebounds per game and pulled down at least 10 rebounds in six different games.

After a rough start to his debut season in Durham, averaging 7.6 points per game through his first eight appearances, scouts raved over the improvement McCain showed by the end of the season. He averaged 16.2 points per game across the last 28 games, including two 30-point games in the NCAA Tournament as the Blue Devils reached the Elite Eight.

McCain now gets to play alongside 7-foot star Joel Embiid, who won the NBA MVP award in 2022-23 before dealing with injuries last season. The Sixers also have Tyrese Maxey, a former Kentucky star who won the Most Improved Player award last season.

McCain now helps Philadelphia in a quest to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in the Embiid era.

ESPN Analytics weighs the most likely NBA draft destinations for Jared McCain

With two days until the 2024 NBA draft officially begins, here’s the math on when Duke fans can expect to hear Jared McCain’s name called.

We’re two days out from the opening round of the NBA draft, and ESPN Analytics has some math for [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] fans.

According to the site’s NBA Draft Day Predictor, McCain’s most likely draft destinations are the Miami Heat (15th overall) and the Philadelphia 76ers (16th overall).

The website has the two Eastern Conference playoff teams almost neck-and-neck with both teams sporting a little more than a 16% chance to take McCain, as of Monday afternoon.

The 76ers keep popping up for McCain on mock drafts as fans and scouts seem intrigued by the pairing of the Blue Devils sharpshooter and former MVP Joel Embiid.

The predictor starts McCain’s reasonable range at 11th overall, and the math thinks there’s more than a 90% chance that he’s still available by the 13th pick.

However, with more than a 30% chance he goes either 15th or 16th, his range seems pretty tight and set in stone. There’s roughly a 10% chance he’s still on the board by the 20th spot on the board, ESPN Analytics says.

The 2024 NBA draft gets underway on Wednesday, and fans can watch and wait alongside the freshman star on ESPN and ABC.

Where do Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski go in ESPN’s NBA fan mock draft?

ESPN released an update on its Draft Day Simulator on Monday. See which teams should end up with McCain and Filipowski in the eyes of fans.

With two days until the 2024 NBA draft, ESPN released an updated look at the site’s Draft Day Predictor.

The model combines every mock draft from the site and weighs the most popular or frequent selection at every spot (who is still on the board), creating a consensus mock draft with the results.

Despite [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] going above [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] in almost every projection, the sophomore forward came off the board first this time around. Filipowski went 12th overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder, last year’s top seed in the Western Conference.

To be fair, only 6% of fans paired Filipowski with the Thunder, but each player with a higher rate already came off the board.

The site also pointed out that Filipowski emerged as the most popular selection for the Cleveland Cavaliers (20th) and the Phoenix Suns (22nd), two other popular spots for him in mock drafts, but he was already off the board by then in the fan mock.

McCain, despite being the most popular selection for the Philadelphia 76ers at 16th overall, went one selection before to the Miami Heat in the fan projection. 20% of NBA fans think the Duke sharpshooter is headed to South Beach.

The 2024 NBA draft gets underway on Wednesday.